


A Family Affair

by WolfyWordWeaver



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Blood and Violence, Family, Family Feels, Multi, The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:08:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22946812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfyWordWeaver/pseuds/WolfyWordWeaver
Summary: Killing that upstart of a dark lord was easy. After all, Blacks bow to no one.
Relationships: Regulus Black & Bellatrix Black Lestrange, Regulus Black & Black Family, Regulus Black & Sirius Black
Comments: 35
Kudos: 261
Collections: Regulus Black Fest 2020





	A Family Affair

Brushing imagined dust off the sleeve of his cloak, Regulus made a great show of not watching his brother trudging up the muddy bank to meet him near the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He sniffled disapprovingly at the strong scent of mudblood cigarettes.

"Hullo, Reg," that sickening voice purred. He was trying to get a rouse out of the young Black heir but Regulus had far too much practice at dealing with Sirius to give in so quickly. 

"Late and smelling like the gutter you crawled out of. Honestly, Sirius, it's like you're trying too hard."

Sirius was grinning around his cigarette, the cherry end bringing a strange golden glow to his grey eyes. 

"Dressed to the nines for a naughty midnight run. Honestly, Reg, it's like you're trying too hard." With a flourish he tossed the butt into the wet shrubbery. "What's up?"

"I wanted to talk about the Dark Lord," the shorter of the two replied easily, and he watched carefully as the tension ran through Sirius and those pale lips curled into a sneer.

"No, I'm not going to join," he spat out angrily. "I thought you'd know better than to ask."

Regulus wanted to sigh at his brother's usual temper tantrum. He was supposed to be the older and more mature one? In his defense, it was hard to be too mature when you carried the Black madness.

"Before you decide to carry on like an infant," Regulus shot in annoyance, "that's not what I'm here to talk about."

Sharp eyes looked down at him. "What about the _Dark Lord_ then?"

"Look, Sirius, I know that you like to think that our parents are complete imbeciles and gullible to any entity that promises darkness and subjugation of the masses, but honestly? You think that Orion and Walburga would roll over for some nameless mutt of a wizard just because he happens to be somewhat proficient in the dark arts? That's more offensive than you shacking up at the blood-traitor's house."

"How does it rank with my buggering a werewolf?"

"I..." Regulus pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to keep calm. "You're a sick fuck, Sirius."

"Thank you!" he chirped happily.

"Ugh. Anyway. I wanted to talk with you since I've heard rumors of you joining some fruitless vigilante group against the Dark Lord."

"Do you want to join?" Sirius asked in pseudo-sweetness. "They only take wizards of age, but they might make an exception for my widdle-bwother."

The stinging hex was already flying from his wand in frustration and that damned oversized _boy_ was laughing. He hadn't even needed to grasp his wand to shield against the hex and that only made Regulus even more furious. How could the ancient gods deem it fit for that fucking lunatic to inherit so much more potent magic than his sane and decidedly more aspirational brother?!

"Damn it, Sirius, can you act like the supposed adult you are for ten fucking minutes so that we can have this conversation?!"

Those leather-clad shoulders shrugged. "I've been bored, Regulus."

Sweet Salazar, what kind of stupid and useless vigilante organization let Sirius Black get _bored_? 

"Are you lot actually making any headway? I know that you've only been out of school for a few months, but from my end of things it's looking like he's been doing whatever the hell he wants. I would have thought that with a _Black_ in their midst then they would have wrapped this thing up already."

Ah, there was the telling twitch of lips, his poor attempt to hide disgust.

"Well, there are...fuck it, you don't care."

Regulus gestured to the darkness around them. "By all means, please explain to me why my supposedly talented, mudblood loving brother hasn't crushed this damn cockroach already."

"Because there's a supposed fucking proper way to do this shit!" Sirius yelled angrily, one hand coming up to brush through those loose waves of ebony hair. "I'm supposed to sit on my arse and _wait_ for the fucking orders and then follow them to a fucking 't' and then go sit on my arse again! Because we're not allowed to bust some fucking kneecaps to get the damned answers we need like where that little wretch is holed up!"

"My, my," Regulus taunted. "Who's the little bitch now?"

Fury burned in those steel eyes and Regulus felt a little thrill. "I'm not the one with the fucking tramp stamp on my arm, Regulus."

At this the younger boy laughed outright. "Tramp stamp? Where do you even get these terms? And if you must know, I consider it a trophy for my first kill."

A surprised barking laugh broke through the wild fury from the previous moment. "Your first kill?" Sirius taunted. "You're going to get your perfectly manicured hands dirty, little brother?"

"As heir to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, I think that a Dark Lord will do quite nicely for my first kill."

"Oooh, so sure of yourself. If that's the case, why haven't _you_ killed him yet?"

"See, Sirius?" Regulus sighed in annoyance. "This is why you can't have nice things. No vision. No appreciation for well-woven plots. No thought for the future." At the raised eyebrow he was graced with in response he decided to go ahead and tell Sirius. "Our parents have been working diligently behind the scenes at the ministry to ensure... _friendly_ faces when the world's transformation after this so-called 'Wizarding War' is complete. We've been using this Death Eater army as a way to vet and weed out the remaining Pureblood families, to see what their true ideologies are and whether they retain any portion of intelligence and cunning. When I make my move, our connections will have already been bonded and the disloyal with be disposed of."

Curiosity was etched all over Sirius' face. "Why bother telling me?" he asked. Regulus tried not to be so annoyed that it took his brother this long to finally deem the conversation important enough to start using his damned brain. 

"Because you're my brother," he huffed, careful to inject the words with haughtiness and not the affection that was always so close to the surface when it came to dealing with Sirius. "It's rather embarrassing that you haven't kill him yet if you're on the supposed 'other side' and I'd rather not have my disowned brother also be a dishonored one."

"You could have just gone through with your plans without telling me," he purred in amusement and anticipation. Those glittering eyes had already guessed at the reason. 

"Well, when I march down to that maggot's stronghold I was thinking that making it a family affair would be rather poetic. As loathe as I am to associate with you, it would be foolish to ignore the fact that you are an accomplished duelist. Besides, I figured that you were probably fed up with sitting on your hands and might appreciate indulging in a little bit of blood lust."

A tongue swiped across hungry lips and Regulus knew that he had made the right decision. 

"When?"

Regulus laughed at the eager tone. "That's what I like to hear, Sirius."

\--- + --- + --- + ---

"Oh Merlin, why did you have to bring _her_ along?!"

Rolling his eyes at the expected but still childish outburst, Regulus responded stonily. "Because she's kicked your sorry arse for a great many years and I like having the best duelists with me."

"I wasn't thrilled to hear that you were going to be here either," Bellatrix sneered, her blood red lipstick shining under the light of her Lumos. "Blood-traitor!"

"Now, now, children..."

"Just admit that you wanted the crazies," Sirius laughed far more loudly than anyone else in their position would have. The street was empty as they stepped through the wards, Regulus' neat wandwork allowing his brother through even without the Mark. 

"Apparently the lack of sanity in our bloodline is in direct proportion to the mastery of dueling skills and potency of magic," Regulus huffed again. 

"It looks like he's brought in some Dementors," Bella interrupted as they moved forward. The ground had already been covered in frost as autumn gave way to winter, but they all could feel the drop of temperature in the air and the heaviness of oppression. 

"Let me handle them," Sirius insisted with a wicked grin. "I'll show you how it's properly done - no dark magic need."

The shadowy figures approached with rattling breathes and even with the shielding being thrown up between himself and Bellatrix, their dark powers were still sucking at Regulus' warmth and confidence. He watched in confusion as Sirius waltzed up to them like they were fellow Marauders before muttering an incantation and flicking his wand with a flourish. The damned man always made spell casting look so good, even while scaring away bloody Dementors with...was that a big dog?!

"What was that?!" Bella demanded as the blue ethereal dog ran off nipping at the proverbial heels of the the hooded creatures.

Sirius turned on his heel and gave the two of them a cocky bow. "It's magic," he whispered sarcastically.

"I'm already regretting this," Regulus complained as he strode forward. "We're on our way to overthrow a bloody Dark Lord! Can't you two have some decorum?"

His cousin gave one last angry hiss towards Sirius before all three of them stepped into the manor. Taking a deep breath, Regulus tried to focus on this mission. It was the pinnacle of years of preparation and hard work. By the end of the night no one of importance would dare deny the superior position that the House of Black retained. 

The first room of Death Eaters they came across was taken down so easily that it was almost laughable. Regulus knew that it was partly due to the element of surprise his and Bellatrix's positions as Death Eaters provided, but still, their performance under a surprise attack was disappointing. He wasn't even pretending to bring Sirius in for an interrogation or anything, and they weren't exactly trying to be quiet either.

Instead, they burst through to the next room with two out of the three of them laughing maniacally. Soon there were colorful bursts of magic exploding everywhere and a loud and annoying roar of voices - most of them curses. Regulus knew that he wasn't in much of a position for the offensive spells, so he stayed between Sirius and Bellatrix and focused his energies on putting up shields and protections. The two idiots probably wouldn't put much in the way of protecting themselves so that the thrill of the fight would be better, but he had _plans_ and wasn't about to risk them for a little bit of an adrenaline rush. One stray curse and he could lose one of his war dogs. A spray of hot blood from one of Sirius' messy slicing curses nearly made Regulus sputter in indignation. Why did his brother always have to be so messy?

Looking around the room, Regulus thrilled at the surprised and furious expressions of the faithful followers. The Blacks had played their hand close to the vest and had set things up so beautifully. Lucius and Narcissa pretended to be surprised by Regulus and Bellatrix's "sudden" betrayal before they too were turning on the Dark Lord's forces. Regulus couldn't help the laugh that slipped out his throat as Cissy easily cut down that stupid Carrow. He had been rudely besmirching her magical talent for years as she had always played the part of the demure trophy wife to Lucius. She had a beautiful glimmer of satisfaction in her eyes to see his life vaporize by her wand - the Black blood ran through her veins too. More than needing her on the front lines, they had used her powerful Legilimency and Occlumency skills to gather information on all the wizards in the Dark Lord's service and manipulate the flow of information through the ranks, all work that had proved to be invaluable for this little coup. After this night, no one would dare to insult Narcissa again, he would make sure of that. Not that she needed any help, he noted as she decapitated another wizard. Lucius shot her an approving glance and Regulus shuddered. That blonde man was giving her the bedroom eyes now. Gross.

And then there he was, in all his impotent fury.

Regulus tried not to visibly shudder in delight with the anticipation of the confrontation. He stepped back to allow the dogs to bare their teeth and watched with a hot sensation coiling in his gut. Sirius had worn a pair of tight leather trousers and a Muggle band t-shirt and yet every graceful move of his sinewy body betrayed the purest blood and flesh that he had been born with. Paired with Bellatrix, he looked divine. Her own black gown was accentuated with a garish leather bodice and her high-heeled boots danced easily over the blood-soaked marble floor. Each of them the eldest child in their respective family, and yet both were doing _his_ bidding.

It was a rush far more gratifying than any carnal pleasure Regulus had ever experienced, and it helped that the two of them looked sinfully erotic as they moved with flicks of wrists, a toss of hair, and necks bared with the force of unbridled laughter. They were _laughing_ at the Dark Lord and Regulus tried not to moan in delight. Lucius and Cissy were smart enough to take their positions behind him, guarding the rear and staying out of the intense three-way duel. The Dark Lord didn't stand a chance, but he didn't know it yet. 

"They're toying with him," Regulus whispered excitedly.

"I hope they don't take all night," Narcissa grumbled. 

"Oh!" he uttered in delight as Bellatrix managed to slip a petrification spell past the shields and Sirius instantly dashed forward to close the distance between himself and the frozen wizard. 

The spell was already deteriorating but it didn't matter. Not when Sirius, true to his crass personality, sucker punched the Dark Lord in the face.

"Oof," Lucius whispered. "I think he broke the man's nose with that."

"So very mudblood," Cissy added dryly. "Crude."

Tom Riddle might have been considered one of the most powerful dark wizards of all time, but the man had obviously never taken a punch directly to the face before. He crumbled in an undignified heap and Sirius easily plucked the dropped wand from the floor and tossed it to the cackling Bellatrix. She quickly snapped the wand, not stupid enough to give the man a chance to cast any more of his experimental spells. Not having access to a family library, many of his dark spells and potions were clumsy and inelegant pieces of work. Still dangerous and painful but lacking a certain _je ne sais quoi_. It would be distasteful to have to deal with something like that at this crowning moment.

"Sirius, stop kicking him," Regulus chided as he strode forward through the puddles of blood and over the still bodies. "I don't want you to take my honors."

"A little kicking never killed anyone," Sirius protested but he thankfully stopped anyway. 

Kneeling down to be closer to Tom's level, Regulus was disappointed to see that the wizard was out cold. His nose was practically non-existent with as badly as it had been crushed by Sirius' punch. 

"Sirius," he whined in annoyance. "How am I supposed to carry on a grand monologue with him looking like that? I won't be able to keep my face straight through the whole thing!"

"UGH," Sirius responded dramatically complete with rolling eyes. "Then don't fucking monologue! You never said anything about me having to stand through that shit."

"Monologue-ing is a rite of passage for Dark Lords," Lucius sniffed arrogantly. 

"Punching pricks in the the face is a rite of passage for me," Sirius shot back with a wink and lifting a threatening fist before Regulus waved his brother off again. 

"For Salazar's sake!" he hissed, not missing how Lucius had taken a quick half-step behind Cissy for protection. Lucius was a snake, but he wasn't stupid. "Someone wake Tom up," Regulus commanded. "I'll keep my remarks short for the sake of my juvenile brother."

Sirius delivered a punishing kick to the Dark Lord's ribs just as Bella casted a reviving spell and Tom Riddle coughed out a scream of pain. Regulus shot another annoyed look at his brother and the young man shrugged.

"Oops," he stated without remorse.

Regulus cleared his throat and looked down at the confused man. Salazar, that flattened nose looked so ridiculous. "Good evening," he started before a snort of a laughter from both Sirius and Bella nearly derailed his thoughts. This was _his_ moment, damn it all! "I had a whole speech memorized, but now I'm going to have to do this all off the cuff since _someone_ has the attention span of a toddler."

"You?!" Tom sneered through the blood streaming down from the mash of nose. "You dare to rise up against me?!"

"Actually, I've already completely usurped you," Regulus sniffed. "Your forces are either dead or belong to me. All that's left is a necessary blood sacrifice. Your blood, of course."

Regulus felt the feeble attempt of wandless Legilimency, an unsurprising move as the Dark Lord was pretty well known for how carelessly he mind-raped his victims. Having been trained by Walburga herself, Regulus was pretty confident in his Occlumency and easily brushed away the man's desperate efforts. 

"You insolent fool!" Riddle tried again and Regulus wondered, not for the first time, if maybe the man was just completely unhinged. He just didn't seem to want to accept that he had been defeated. Not even surrounded by the dead bodies of his followers and with no chance of escape. The Black heir almost shuddered just thinking of how most of the Wizarding World assumed that the Blacks were serving _under_ such a creature. Not in a million years. 

"Look, Tom, I appreciate that your little reign of terror has sown the seeds of discord throughout the Wizarding World and helped my family to sort through the capabilities and ideologies of most of the large Pureblood families, but your usefulness has expired."

"You can kill my body," the Dark Lord laughed, his red eyes glowing in delight, "but I will always come back, _boy_!"

"Oh yes, are you talking about this?" Regulus asked as he pulled a locket out of his front pocket and dangled it in front of the man. The look on the wizard's already pale face was priceless and Regulus almost preened at his own conniving. "Did you honestly think I wouldn't learn about your little attempts at immortality? All megalomaniacs seek after that, Tom."

The sounds of items being carelessly tossed to the floor behind him made the young Black heir grin. It had almost been an oversight on his part, thinking that the different items Tom handed out to his "loyal" followers were merely trophies that he wanted hidden away for safekeeping. It wasn't until the Dark Lord asked to use Kreacher to test out house elf magic on some of his defenses that Regulus finally learned what they really were. 

"What're these?" Sirius asked curiously as he looked at the pile of what appeared to be odds and ends.

"Dearest brother, you're looking at the shredded remnants of this man's soul."

The tall man clicked his tongue in surprise. "He made more than one horcrux?"

"For insurance, you see," Regulus purred. "A smart move, sadly squandered by thinking that those with actual Pure Blood would bow to your whims and desires. Oh, and recognize these?" From the pocket of his robes he procured and tossed down a handful of bloody fangs. 

"No!" Tom screamed in more passion and rage than he had expressed at any other point in their interaction. 

"Who knew that killing your pet Basilisk would be what finally knocked you over the edge?" the teen laughed. " _It was a bloody nuisance to find that damned chamber,"_ he hissed in Parseltongue.Regulus might not have been a natural Parselmouth, but he was a quick study and killing an existing Basilisk was easier than trying to breed and grow one in time for this uprising. 

Sirius' barking laugh echoed over the corpses in the room and even Bella and Cissy couldn't hold back their amused chuckles. 

"Fucking overachiever," Sirius teased, and Regulus almost blushed at the pride shining in those molten silver eyes. 

"Dumbledore isn't the only one who can learn it," Bella declared proudly, and this time Regulus did blush. He was the youngest out of all the Blacks and here he was in his moment of crowning victory being praised by the others. They were showing their acceptance of his position and he could have puffed up like one of Malfoy's peacocks. 

Fueled by the praise, Regulus plucked one of the fangs and dragged it sensually over the jeweled locket. A drip of black venom spilled out of the tip of the fang and rolled over the dark artifact. He could almost feel the locket tremble as the piece of soul felt its end drawing near. Bella wordlessly casted an Incarcerous spell to bind the fallen man to keep him from attempting anything foolish while Regulus delicately set the locket on the marbled floor. With a vicious stab, the Dark Lord's dead pet assisted in the destruction of its master's soul. A burst of dark magic shot out around them, but Regulus found that he wasn't scared or even nervous. 

"I too am a master, Tom," he started up conversationally as he reached back and grabbed Helga Hufflepuff's cup. "And like you were fond of your little beast, I too am fond of what belongs to me. My house elf, for example." The wizard trembled in pain and gasped as the fang sunk into the soft metal. This time Regulus was almost feeling a bit elated by the dark magic spilling out from under his fingers. "You see, I like my house elf. Kreacher is a rather pleasant servant."

" _Not_ ," Sirius coughed in annoyance, but Regulus ignored him.

"But even if he wasn't perfectly pleasant, he's still _mine_." 

The teen grabbed Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem next and sneered as he snatched up a new fang and stabbed the priceless relic. It was a shame to see such lovely pieces that belonged in proper wizarding families being destroyed because of the self-importance of an upstart Dark Lord. A true shame. There were two items left and Regulus had a special plan for these more personal pieces. Taking the ring and the journal, Regulus stood up and stepped out towards the center of the room as he would need some space for this particular curse. He may not be the most accomplished duelist in the family, but Regulus was no Squib. This was a curse that he knew no one else in his family could control, and he felt a well of pride that he was showing off to them now. The incantation was whispered as he held his wand aloft and a surge of wild energy shot through his arm and out the end of the wand wanting to run away ferociously, but Regulus had plenty of practice at reigning in the unwieldy. He manipulated the cursed fire into the serpent form he desired, relishing in the heat he felt almost blistering against his cheeks. This was a finicky curse, not one he would normally bother with as he liked elegance in his magic, but there was a certain thrill in bringing out the feared Fiendfyre and making it his bitch. Using it against the Inferi that had tried to kill his house elf had really helped him practice. 

"Oh!" Bella gasped in delight behind him. "Regulus, you fiend!"

"Bloody hell," Lucius stammered, the sounds of his polished boots scraping backwards against the floor almost hidden under the roar of the Fyre.

"Hot damn, Reggie!" Sirius cheered. Regulus was a little annoyed at having his pet name used in the presence of his soon-to-be-vanquished Dark Lord, but the childish pleasure that his brother was so good at exuding overcame the annoyance. He always loved hearing his brother cheer him on.

With extreme focus he drew the path of the Fiendfyre around to keep it in front of himself before picking up the ring. It was a Gaunt family ring and he felt pleased to be rid of this particular heirloom. The Gaunts had completely fallen to their insanity and their last pathetic remnant of blood would be dying today. Tossing the ring up like a dead ferret to the hungry maw of the Fyre that had already consumed the bodies in its path, Regulus watched with delight as the protective charms and spells around the ring shattered and the dark magic puttered out. Feeling the need to push his magic to the limit and show off, Regulus lifted up the corner of the journal's leather cover and held the book out towards the flames. The pages slowly curled from the indirect heat, the soul slowly burning to oblivion. He imagined that Tom was writhing on the cold floor, suffering as the last shred of his soul was consumed by the hungry tongues of cursed flame. With a flick of his thin wrist, he tossed the rest of the journal into the coils of the fiery serpent, and with a flourish and unnecessary Parseltongue summon he called the curse back into his wand. There was a sheen of sweat across his brow and he discreetly dabbed at it with a handkerchief before turning to face the rest of them. 

"You see, Tom," he chided softly as if he was speaking to a child, "it's more than just how good you are with a wand. I admire your drive to be the best, but it's really nothing that can stand to the Purebloods like us Blacks. Your muddied blood has put you in the same worthless rank as those others you wished to subjugate. I think it fitting that a being like you who cannot feel love should die alone and feeling the pain that you inflicted on others. I may not be as handy with the Cruciatus Curse as my lovely cousin, Bella, but I think you'll find the display sufficient enough." He glanced over at Cissy and tried to keep his glee at Lucius' pale face hidden under a neutral mask. "Cissy, please make sure his mental walls are completely down so that he can feel the full force of this."

As he suspected, Tom Riddle's inability to feel or comprehend love had no bearing on his ability to feel pain.

\--- + --- + --- + ---

For all the heartache and annoyance that his family provided throughout his life, Regulus was happy that they were with him tonight. He felt pride as they stood around and witnessed his first kill, a slicing spell across the man's throat so that he could properly drain the blood and use it in his ritual. The runes were drawn out in the still living blood as the man sputtered and gasped. He traced the Dark Mark on his forearm and muttered the appropriate incantations before using his wand and the blood to make his own changes to the enchanted mark. There was a burning pain much like when he had first accepted it under the watchful eyes of his parents, but the euphoria of seeing his plan come to completion was more than enough to make up for it. As the life finally slipped away from the pale man, Regulus felt the transfer of power over the Dark Marks. Taking a handful of the cooling blood he beckoned Bella and Lucius forward.

They both took the knee before him and presented their arms to him. Regulus could feel the silvery eyes of his brother watch as he smeared the blood over the Dark Marks and enchanted them away with his own commanding magic. He was going to need to nap for a couple of days after this was all done. Bella grinned up at him, her attractive features highlighted in the shimmery rays of threatening dawn. While she wasn't one to enjoy taking orders, he could see that she was pleased with his position at the head of the family tonight. He didn't think that she would give him a hard time as Pater Familia once that ceremony was complete. After she stood, he turned his attention to Lucius and he smiled with a cold heat. 

"Lucius, you have been a faithful follower under my family's command. I want you to swear fealty to the Blacks, to accept that the Malfoys will exist under the Black banner from now on, and to willingly renounce your headship in favor of submitting to my position as Head of the Family."

The thick swallow of pride did not escape Regulus' notice, but he hadn't expected such a man to enjoy submitting to someone so much younger. As long as he played nice, Regulus didn't intend to rub it in his face or humiliate him. His respect for Cissy extended just far enough for that. 

"I swear," Lucius stated, eyes firmly fixed on Regulus', "to complete fealty to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black and to my gratitude for placing the Malfoy House under the banner of protection of the House of Black. Moreover, I renounce my own position as Head of the House of Malfoy in favor of submitting to the Pater Familia of the House of Black."

"We will make the appropriate binding vows after I go through the Pater Familia rituals after graduation," Regulus stated airily. 

He glanced at Cissy and she curtsied to him respectfully. "My Lord," she submitted.

With a final glance at Sirius, Regulus tried not to be annoyed when he received nothing more than a grin and a wink. Sirius wasn't even technically part of the family anymore and he didn't really have weight to throw around with his compulsively oppositional brother. Turning back to the rest of them he tilted his head in a gracious nod. 

"You are all invited over to Grimmauld Place for some refreshments before retiring." Sunrise was coming up quickly. "Sirius, please stay back with me for a moment."

The dismissal was apparent and everyone else disapparated on the spot. All the protective charms and wards were now gone with the death of the caster and Regulus was pleased to have one less thing to deal with. Turning to his only sibling, Regulus frowned again at the fact that Sirius was still a good few inches taller than he was. They were barely a year apart, damn it all! Maybe he would hit a later growth spurt and leave Sirius to stare up at him in jealousy. 

"What do you want, Reggie?" Sirius asked with a knowing smile. 

"I wanted to know something." He paused to swallow thickly and continued. "Will you swear fealty to me, Sirius?"

The heaviness of the question hung in the air between them, and the mischievous grin fell from those pale lips. Grey eyes studied grey for a moment before he finally responded.

"No, Reggie. I won't."

He knew that Sirius would answer that way, but it still hurt to hear. It might have been the sheer exhaustion from such a full night, but Regulus couldn't seem to control the tears that seemed to fill his eyes. What did it matter if everyone else on this planet bowed the knee to him if Sirius would just stand by grinning like the fool he was? No one else in the world mattered the way his Siri did.

"Of course."

"You know that I'm not the type to swear fealty to anyone," Sirius responded softly but resolutely. 

Regulus snorted in an undignified manner, thinking of that band of misfits that Sirius was sworn to. "Don't patronize me, Sirius." Still looking rather sober, Sirius unexpectedly began taking his shirt off making Regulus squeak in surprise, the second undignified response in just as many minutes. "What the hell?!"

"Oh come on, it's just skin, Reggie. I want you to look at something."

"If it's your, what did you call it, _tramp stamp_ , then I'm not interested."

"Just look, prat."

Glancing back at all the exposed milky skin, Regulus was shocked to see a number of inky tattoos all over his brother's chest. "What?!" he cried in dismay. "Why would you mar your perfect skin?!!"

"It's just a bit of decoration," Sirius laughed, "but look right here." He leaned to the side a little and raised his arm slightly to expose his left rib cage area where a menacing lion was curling it's lips in a snarl. 

"Oh lovely," Regulus sighed. "Thanks for showing off your Gryffindor pin-up."

"No, dummy," Sirius chided, voice still soft. "Look, it's got a crown."

"So?" He stared at the tattoo and saw that it did indeed have an elegant crown hovering over it's head. He frowned as he recognized the crown as a Black family heirloom.

"He's a _king_ , Regulus. Right by my heart."

The sudden meaning hit Regulus with the force of a rampaging Hippogryph. " _Oh._ "

Sirius smiled again, but without any hint of his trademark mockery. He pulled his little brother up against his bare chest and squeezed him in a tight hug. "I'm proud of you, man. And I love you. Leaving the mad house didn't change that." He didn't say anything more as he felt the younger boy sniffling. 

When they parted a few minutes later, Regulus wiped his face with his handkerchief before clearing his throat and looking back over at the freshest corpse. "Are your lot going to take care of cleanup?"

Slipping his shirt back over his head, Sirius shrugged. "I guess. They won't know anything about this unless there's a Morsmordre sign or something. Oh hey, if you've been able to change the one on your arm will that change the curse for the sky too?"

"Do you want to test it out?" Regulus teased with a wink.

"Hell no, man!" There was a brief pause. "At least, not with my bloody wand. I'm in fucking Auror training and they check for shit like that."

Regulus held out his wand. "Would you like to give me a hand?"

Grinning, Sirius stepped forward and wrapped his large hand around his brother's fingers. The wand beneath their grip trembled with the surge of energy as they summoned the Morsmordre curse simultaneously. The sky erupted with a sickly green skull whose gaping maw had a snake writhing out before a sword suddenly speared through the top of the skull and through the head of the snake. Grey eyes locked on similar grey eyes and Regulus thought that maybe things would be okay between them.

A few hours later found the entirety of the Wizarding World in an uproar of confusion as the body of the most feared Dark Lord in their history was found under a tampered version of his own symbol. No explanation could be found and wizarding kind was left to wonder if they should be celebrating or fearing for the rising of a new Dark Lord. 

Regulus smiled into his morning tea at the Slytherin table, trying his best to not give in and glance over at Dumbledore's bewildered and grim expression.

**Author's Note:**

> No. 68  
> Pairing:  
> Prompt: Killing that upstart of a dark lord was easy, after all Blacks bow to no one.  
> By: Anonymous


End file.
